ECONOMY

Congrats If You Had Yellen Moneyline

With all due respect to Gordon Hayward, Janet Yellen will become the hottest free agent signed this offseason. President-elect Joe Biden is expected to nominate the former Fed chair as the next Treasury secretary, the WSJ first reported. 

It's a history-making pick. If confirmed, Yellen will become the first woman to lead the Treasury Department. And she'd be the only person ever to occupy the country's top three economic policymaking positions: Fed chair, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, and Treasury secretary—the financial EGOT. 

Quick scroll through Yellen's LinkedIn

Education: Undergraduate economics degree from Brown and a PhD in economics from Yale.

Work highlights: In the 1970s, she first joined the Fed's Board of Governors as an economist. She led the Council of Economic Advisers under President Clinton in the late '90s, and served as Fed chair from 2014–2018. 

Skills: Experienced, organized, and well-respected among the global financial elite. Biden said his Treasury secretary pick would please those across the Democratic party, and Yellen is it. 

What does a Treasury secretary even do? 

Think of this role as the CFO of the United States. Yellen will advise the president on a broad range of economic issues, from public debt to international sanctions. 

Of course, Yellen's first couple months will be preoccupied with one objective: putting this coronavirus-induced recession in the rearview. Throughout the pandemic, Yellen has called for more spending from Congress to alleviate the suffering of Americans. 

What else will be on her agenda? 

• Managing the U.S.' economic relationship with China
• Helping Biden craft tax proposals
• The future of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae 

Zoom out: As Biden's Cabinet comes into view, it's clear he's favoring seasoned vets over hot-shot rookies. Yesterday, we also learned he's tapping longtime foreign-policy adviser Antony Blinken as secretary of state and former Secretary of State John Kerry as special presidential envoy for climate. 

PHARMA

This Vaccine Is Not Like the Rest

Yesterday, a third major Covid-19 vaccine, co-developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, posted promising results from late-stage trials.

• The vaccine was 62% effective when delivered as two full doses a month apart, and 90% effective as a half dose followed by a full dose. 

AstraZeneca is still conducting additional analysis, but it's planning on seeking early or emergency approval from global regulators. If it gets the nod, AstraZeneca could have a two-dose shot ready by year-end and 3 billion doses next year. 

The really exciting bit: AstraZeneca's vaccine can be stored at fridge temperatures for at least six months, making it easier to distribute than Pfizer's or Moderna's. And because it uses more traditional vaccine methodology (Pfizer's and Moderna's are mRNA-based), it can be shipped out through existing distribution systems.

Zoom out: This is huge news for the developing world. AstraZeneca doesn't plan on profiting from its vaccine and will distribute doses at cost (a few bucks a pop). The company has committed 300 million doses to a WHO initiative for equitable vaccine access and another 1 billion for developing countries. 

TECH

Social Media Product Development Meetings

Snapchat announced yesterday it's rolling out a short-form video competitor to TikTok in 11 countries, including the U.S.

Meet "Spotlight"

Snap's TikTok clone lives in its own tab within the app and will allow users to create vertical videos of up to 60 seconds that can be spiced up with music and visual effects, like Snap's filters.

• Snapchat is Snapifiying it, though: Spotlight user profiles will be private by default and, as of now, the company is barring reuploads of videos originally posted to TikTok. It wants to ensure the content you see on Spotlight was created specifically for Spotlight. 

To make sure that Spotlight content gets created, Snap is adopting the "pay people a ridiculous amount of money" approach. Snap is dishing out $1 million per day to creators who pump out the best-performing videos on the platform.

Bottom line: Snap, whose "Stories" feature has been famously copied by Instagram, Linkedin, Twitter, and more, is finally getting its first taste of playing catch-up. 

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AUTO

GM Makes a Tight U-Turn

The quadrennial changing of the White House guard can quickly reshuffle business allegiances. Yesterday, GM CEO Mary Barra pulled her company's support for a Trump administration lawsuit against the state of California. 

The backstory: In September 2019, President Trump tried to revoke California's ability to set stricter emissions standards than those imposed by federal regulators. California, the U.S.' largest auto market, generally passes tighter regulations that set the tone for other states and automakers.

• GM joined Fiat Chrysler, Toyota, and several smaller automakers in supporting the White House. The coalition argued inconsistent regulations between states would drive up prices. 
• Barra had also previously asked the president to weaken federal tailpipe pollution standards set by the Obama administration (a rollback that was finalized in March).

Looking ahead…Barra is trying to buddy up to Biden, who's made supporting the electric vehicle industry a priority for his administration. GM has been going all-in on electric, and last week upped its planned investments in electric and autonomous vehicles to $27 billion over the next five years. 

+ While we’re here: Potentially faulty air bags are forcing GM to recall 7 million pickup trucks and SUVs. It’ll cost the automaker an estimated $1.2 billion.

CRYPTO

If Bitcoin Is Shrek, Ethereum Is Donkey

Bitcoin is flirting with all-time highs, but that other cryptocurrency you might have heard of, Ethereum, has actually been outperforming big, bad bitcoin over the last 12 months.

Alts are also rockin’

Bitcoin is the biggest, but hardly the only, cryptocurrency out there. Alternative coins (altcoins) like Ripple and Litecoin have been trending upwards in part because they're drafting on bitcoin's months-long bull market. Broadly speaking, "Bitcoin leads and the altcoins follow," Peter Wall, CEO of London-based Argo Blockchain, told CNBC.

Ethereum, in particular, is having a banger of a 2020 because of the hype around DeFi.

• DeFi = Decentralized Finance, a movement to build decentralized versions of traditional financial instruments like lending platforms, options trading, and currency exchanges. DeFi systems are typically built using Ethereum's blockchain technology. 

Zoom out: Altcoins in general have a stigma because of the lack of regulation and a laundry list of horror stories involving scammy coin offerings. But, as DeFi gains more traction and institutional investors warm up to bitcoin, altcoins could benefit. 

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• The National Retail Federation said retail sales in November and December could be up to 5.2% higher than last year.
• Tesla's stock price continues to climb. The company is now worth nearly $500 billion and is set to make its S&P 500 debut later next month. 
• Clorox is shipping almost 1 million packages of wipes to stores every single day.
• Billionaire investor Steve Cohen is making a splash on Twitter as the new owner of the NY Mets.
• Relativity Space, a 3D-printed rocket startup, raised $500 million. 

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Stay in-the-know. If you’re the type of person who’s curious about the latest drama at city hall, crime spikes in your area, or local biz heroes, this app is your best bet for local news.  

Tech Tip Tuesday: The biggest Snapchat news may be its new TikTok copycat, but did you know you can also scan food and wine labels on the app?

MVP recipes: If you were impressed by Alex Hickey’s attention to culinary detail at the top of this newsletter, just wait until you read her epic Thanksgiving recipe guide. 

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FROM THE CREW

Dept. of Warm Fuzzies

2020 has been so challenging, we probably don't need to end this sentence with an explanation on why it's been challenging. Aside from Dolly Parton and anyone who bought Zoom stock in January, this year has been one of the worst in recent memory for many. 

But maybe...and hear us out...not completely? We've seen a few diamonds in the rough and silver linings in the storm cloud, plus we've added some new clichés to our repertoire. 

• For example: Some Brew Crew members adopted pets (and plants), while others paid off their student loans. A few of us even got in shape. 

As we head toward Thanksgiving, the holiday where we express gratitude, we want to ask you: What unexpected gems have fallen into your lap in 2020? What brought you joy this year? Tell us here, we'll share some reader responses in tomorrow's newsletter, and we can all get weepy together. 

GAMES

Treasury Trivia

Who was the U.S.' first Treasury secretary? 

ANSWER

His name is Alexander Hamilton. 

Bruce Glikas/Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic